The present invention concerns packing systems and more particularly to a container packing system for conveyed articles.
Packing systems are well known and widely used for packing articles such as foodstuff, smaller packages or collapsed smaller boxes into a larger box. Typically, the system includes a moving conveyor belt on which the articles travel, a movable platform and the box to be filled located at one end of the conveyor belt. The box is generally mounted around the platform edges and the platform moves downwardly once a layer of articles is added to the platform. An operator stands near the box and the conveyor belt end and places the articles in the box once the articles reach the conveyor belt end. Once one layer is added, the operator adds a divider or breaker sheet into the box and the process is repeated. Typically, a corrugated sheet is placed at the bottom of the box.
Several designs of packing systems exist, examples of which are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,582, issued Aug. 15, 1972 to Sequin for xe2x80x9cMethod of Loading Containers with Articlesxe2x80x9d; and
UK Patent Application No. GB 2,098,570, published Nov. 24, 1982 to Clegg et al. for xe2x80x9cPackaging Articles in Layers in a Cartonxe2x80x9d.
The aforesaid designs suffer from a number of important drawbacks. In each case, the movable platform is located inside the box such that when a packing operation is complete, the platform exits through a lower end of the box, thus requiring either a complex apparatus design or an operator to laterally displace the box once filled. Disadvantageously, an operator must then manually invert the box for sealing the lower end after an upper end has been sealed. This may cause repeated use injury to the back especially if the box is packed with heavy articles. Also, if not properly sealed, the contents of the box may fall out during inversion. Furthermore, the boxes used with one design appears to require that a gap be present between two lower box flaps to accommodate therebetween the platform shaft, which may restrict the box""s orientation to one packing position on the system. In addition, none of the box upper flaps are secured to the conveyor belt end, which could cause interference and damage to the flaps when the articles are off-loaded from the conveyor belt.
Thus there is a need for an improved container packaging system.
The present invention reduces the difficulties and disadvantages of the prior art by providing an ergonomically favorable and computer-controlled box packaging system that allows the box to be packed by a packer at substantially higher speed than the aforesaid designs. Advantageously, the system of the present invention allows the packer to receive conveyed articles from a conveyor belt in one hand and pass them to the other hand located in or above the box using a simple pendulum motion at waist height, by constantly filling the box at the upper level thereof without ever having to reach the bottom. The present invention achieves this by providing a novel arrangement of lower box flaps relative to a movable supporting platform that eliminates the need for the packer to invert the box once filled. The supporting platform and the lower box flaps are configured such that the box bottom is already closed when the box is filled. Furthermore; the aforesaid problems associated with the box flaps interfering with the path of article travel during the packing process are significantly reduced or essentially eliminated by securing one of the flaps to the conveyor belt frame such that the box is held securely in a packing position. In addition, the present packing system can be retrofitted into an existing packing system and may be adapted to boxes of various dimensions.
Accordingly, in a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a container packing system for use with conveyed articles, the system comprising: a carton having four sidewalls with first, second, third and fourth carton upper edges and first, second, third and fourth carton lower edges; first, second, third and fourth upper flaps connected to the respective first, second, third and fourth upper edges; first, second, third and fourth lower flaps connected to the respective first, second, third and fourth lower edges, the four sidewalls defining a carton inner space sized to receive therein a layer of the conveyed articles; and a movable support platform for receiving thereon the conveyed articles and being shaped and dimensioned for location in the carton space between the four sidewalls, the support platform being actuatable to move between the upper edges and the lower edges, the first and second lower flaps being folded inwardly and upwardly towards a lower surface of the movable support platform.
Typically, the third and fourth lower flaps depend downwardly from the third and fourth carton lower edges, the third and fourth lower flaps being located below the lower surface of the support platform. The third and fourth lower flaps fold inwardly and towards each other to close a carton lower end. The first and second lower flaps are sized and dimensioned smaller than the third and fourth lower flaps.
Typically, the first upper flap is folded outwardly and towards a conveyor belt having thereon the conveyed articles, the first upper flap being sandwiched between a pair of sandwich plates located at a conveyor belt end and connected to a sandwich plate support, the sandwich plates including an upper fixed plate and a lower hinged plate.
Typically, the conveyor belt, the first upper flap and the movable support platform are located in a common generally horizontal plane relative to each other, the articles moving from the conveyor belt over the upper fixed plate and onto the movable support platform. The lower hinged plate is actuatable between an open configuration for receiving the first upper flap and a closed flap holding configuration.
Typically, the movable support platform includes a support shaft having a vertical support shaft axis generally centrally positioned relative to the four sidewalls.
Typically, the movable support platform includes two side panels depending downwardly therefrom. The first and second lower flaps rest against the two side panels.
Typically, a fairly rigid bottom sheet supporting a plurality of partition walls thereon is located on the movable platform, each partition wall defining an article receiver portion. The articles are packed into adjacent article receiver portions in different orientations, the articles being packed into alternating orientations to attain a layer of articles.
Accordingly, in a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of packing a carton with articles from a conveyor belt, comprising: moving downwardly two lower carton flaps folded inwardly and upwardly towards a lower surface of a movable support platform, the movable support platform being sized and dimensioned to be located between four carton sidewalls and to receive thereon the articles, so as to pack the carton with a layer of the articles.